My girlfriend and I split up a couple of weeks ago. I have a lot of time to think and I’m doing a bit of reflecting on my life and the past. I was on vacation and while we were apart, we both did some soul searching. We talked about it when I got back and we knew it wasn’t going to work. I’m not mad at her or anything; it just wasn’t going to last. I’m alright with it and I’m moving on. It’s best for both of us. Another on the long-list of failed relationships. Some weren’t bound to last, others I didn’t want to last, and one I completely sabotaged and still regret how it ended. That’s life though. We’ve all been there… we live and learn.

But it got me thinking about my relationship with my football club. Interestingly, I got into the Premier League – and chose Chelsea – because of another girl. This girl didn’t last too long but she was a serious Arsenal fan. And I mean serious. She could recite scoring statistics from players that I still never heard of. She watched all their games more than once and listened to podcasts galore. She got into Arsenal during the invincibles season and all their games were shown on a NYC-area sports channel (I assume YES network but don’t hold me to that, I live in Philly). She was Ms. Arsenal.

I became an Premier League fan because of her. I have an easy explanation for how I became a Chelsea fan: I looked at a map and chose the team that was closest and highest on the table. Chelsea fit the bill. Done. I’m a Chelsea fan. It was, in part, to antagonize her but with good intentions. I couldn’t be a Man United fan or Arsenal fan as “everyone” loved those clubs, so it only made sense. Now who were all these guys out there playing? I didn’t know Frank Lampard from Frank Lloyd Wright; I couldn’t tell you if they played at Stamford Bridge or Stanford University, near where I grew up; I had no idea who John Terry was – that he was the captain of England – and that he’d been a career Chelsea man. This was the spring of 2007…. and my relationship was now in hyperdrive.

So, I started to read. I read everything I could find. I learned the history of the club; about Roman Abramovich and about how he made his money; about Russia and the “wild east” capitalism that reigned in the 90s and made the oligarchs rich beyond anyone’s imagination only because they understood the true value of the assets Russia was auctioning off (as a side note, Casino Moscow is an older but very good book on post-Soviet Russia, highly recommended if anyone is interested in that topic, but it’s not specifically about Abramovich). I learned about the dark side of Chelsea and the reputation they had because of the Chelsea Headhunters; and their financial troubles in the 70s and 80s. I could tell you that John Terry came through their academy; Lampard may have never made it if it wasn’t for his dad being a coach at West Ham, where he got his start; that Drogba played just one year in Marseille and grew up near Paris; and that Claude Makelele also grew up near Paris. I learned everything I possibly could.

I’ve been there since 2007. But if I had do it over again, I wouldn’t have chosen Chelsea. And I’ve already cheated a little. I’ve started following two other teams but without such intensity: Everton and Tottenham. They’re solid, well run and talented clubs with great fan bases (especially at White Hart Lane) that I’d be proud to say that I’m a supporter. I even bought a Everton jersey from Landon Donovan’s time there. I tell people that I’m a Donovan fan and not an Everton fan. That’s a lie, I feel he’s a bit overrated (but I won’t get into that here). I wouldn’t dare publicly admit that I’m an Everton or Tottenham fan. I’m in denial and denial is the first sign of a problem.

Then I remember what I’ve been through with Chelsea. I remember screaming at a gamecast I was following during the 2008 Champions League Final and checking the rampant text messages I was getting during the shootout while I was stuck at the trading desk that I call my day job; the dismay when they fired Scolari who didn’t even seem to have been given a chance; talking to my co-worker, a London native, about the John Terry affair and his attempts to quash it hitting the press. It’s the little things and that’s what makes it tough.

But I just can’t do it. I won’t do it. I still bleed Chelsea Blue. I may be critical of their transfers and the revolving door in management, but I won’t turn my back. I can’t cut the cord but I’m not entirely sure why. I’ve put so much into this relationship that it’s not worth turning my back on it. So I do the unthinkable: I cheat on Chelsea and sit in denial. I’ve become complacent. I don’t want Chelsea to win… I expect it. I get upset if they lose and if they don’t win by four goals. I get depressed when they lose to Man United or Liverpool. And I cynical when they “only” beat West Brom 3-1. I get frustrated during their mid-season slumps and embarrassed that they lost 3-0 to Sunderland at the Bridge. I’m not sure how I’ll feel if they when they’ll play in the Champions League Final again. Not when, but if.

All relationships take some amount of work. For myself to claim that I am a true fan, a knowledgeable and dedicated fan, it takes work. It’s easier when you live in a city and the local teams are in the media like with the Phillies and Eagles here in Philly. Fox Soccer and the Internet, obviously, make a relationship with Chelsea a bit easier to manage. But it takes work. I’ve put too much work into it to turn my back on them now.

And after typing all this out, I openly wonder if I put this much thought into the how and what went wrong in my last relationship… my ex-girlfriend and I might still be together.

Photo by dullhunk

‘Tis the summer transfer season and virtually every player is being linked to Manchester City and Chelsea. In order to win, a team obviously needs good players. Chelsea needs to address the age of their squad and their aging stars. Manchester City, however, has spent something north of 500 million pounds and Mancini says he needs more players? This isn’t an analysis as to who they should or shouldn’t throw money at but why they should pay attention where they throw that money. Both teams may not benefit by buying the best players money can buy…. but buying the best players that play together. I’ll explain what I mean.

Chelsea’s transfer needs are fairly clear as they need to lower their average age, find eventual replacements for Drogba, Terry, Anelka and strengthen their midfield further. David Luiz helped plug a hole created by the departure of Ricardo Carvalho in the central defense and has done an excellent job for the Blues in the second half of the year, scoring ahead of Fernando Torres.

Chelsea has had a massive cash infusion since the Abramovich takeover in 2003 but one thing has never changed: their ability to play together, and play well together. At the core in Chelsea are four key players: Cech, Lampard, Terry, Ashley Cole and Drogba. They were there for the first Premier League trophy of the Abramovich era in 2005, the Champions League final in 2008 and the 2010 Premier League winners. Granted, some legendary players such as Carvalho, Wayne Bridge and Claude Makelele have left and been replaced by the previously mentioned Luiz, Branislav Ivanovic and Michael Essien, their team core – and ability to play together – has never changed.

The key for Chelsea is to realize that their success was due to talented players – some of which are the best at their positions – that play and mesh very well. The lesson that Chelsea can teach Manchester City is that because they have the talent to win doesn’t mean that have the team to win.

When Sheikh Mansour took over Manchester City in 2008, he gave Mark Hughes a checkbook and permission to sign away. That’s exactly what he did. Transfermarket.co.uk does a good job categorizing the comings and goings at the City of Manchester stadium. Looking at the comings since the money, clearly the best signing for the money was Vincent Kompany. That guy is a beast and has been one of the best central defenders in the Premiership. Along with Nemanja Vidic, they were the central defense for the PFA’s Starting XI. What did he cost? Just £6.7 million. Honorable mentions are Nigel De Jong at £16m; Pablo Zabaleta at £6.5; all still at the core of the Man City backfield.

My point isn’t that they were cheap relative to James Milner, Yaya Toure and Mario Balotelli, but maybe Mark Hughes was onto something when he was signing some of these players?

Granted, Hughes paid an obscene amount for older, marginal players such as Jo at £18m, Wayne Bridge at £12, Roque Santa Cruz for £17.5m and Craig Bellamy for £14. But maybe, just maybe, he was trying to build a team with quality players that played well together. As Hughes was sacked, Roberto Mancini was named by the new owners to take over the club and the spending has all but accelerated since then. And now Mancini says they need more players. Has that spending really helped them? I say it hasn’t made a bit of difference whatsoever.

With the the real impact of the money being thrown around in the 2009-2010 summer transfer window, more big-money acquisitions of Kolo Toure, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Jolean Lescott boosted the squad further. Mark Hughes’s dream of the Champions League was never realized as he was sacked after 7 straight draws. They missed out on the Champions League by three points to a surging Tottenham, earning 5th place with 67 points. This season, they placed third mainly due to a massive slump by Arsenal with some pathetic showings where they gave up a 2-0 home lead to lose at home to Tottenham and gave up a stunning 4-0 halftime lead at Newcastle, forcing them to go home with a tie. Regardless as to the play of other teams, how many points did Manchester City earn compared to the season prior?

Four. Man City spent over £100 million between the end of the 09-10 and 10-11 seasons and improved by four points. That’s a lot of money for four points. Some players, notably David Silva and Yaya Toure, have made substantial contributions to the club this season. Instead of trying to work with castoffs like Bellamy and Adebayor; Mancini went and spent more, buying Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko (among others, of course). That said, I have no doubt about the ability and talent of their squad. It’s deep and talented all around, but if Mancini spent more time worrying about the ability of their squad to play together versus buying the best players, their point total could improve even further without spending another dime.

Chelsea has shown that a team can win with very good players, including some of the best in their respective positions in the world with the core being signed by Claudio Raineri before their first Premier League trophy. However, if the eleven out on the pitch can’t play as a team, they can spend to till the natural gas taps run dry in Qatar and still may find themselves still looking up at Chelsea.

Thomas Sorensen (SC)– Like Hart, Sorensen is 4.1 but has racked up the same number of points after four clean sheets, two bonus points and a number of save points to boot. Stoke’s next three fixtures are Manchester Utd, Everton and West Ham, so caution over whether or not you feel he can score points.

Richard Dunne (AV) – Dunne’s price has gone up 0.2 since his move from Manchester City, and he’s now 5.2 which is still a great bargain. He’s played two games with Villa, and has helped them to two clean sheets, as well as scoring four bonus points in these two games. Get in quickly, you won’t find many better scorers at such a good rate, his price is only going to go up and up.

Joseph Yobo (EV) – After their dreadful start to the season, Yobo price plummeted to 5.8 – like a number of Everton players. With the Goodison ship now steadied, and the trio of Portsmouth, Stoke and Wolves coming up over the next few weeks Yobo will be a certain tip to pick up some valuable clean sheet points, and maybe even a goal.

Yossi Benayoun (LI) – After a quiet start to the season, Yossi’s price went down before shooting back up to 7.6 post-Burnley hat trick. The Israeli midfielder seems to have finally secured himself a starting eleven berth at Liverpool, and his dancing feet will most certainly pick up more goals and more assists as the season goes on.

James Milner (AV) – Milner’s price dropped to 6.9, but after picking up a fantastic 14 points last weekend against Portsmouth his value will go back up to 7.0 before the week is over. Milner has taken on penalty kick duties after the departure of Gareth Barry and Ashley Young’s misses, as well as playing a key role across the midfield. Expect more goals and assists from James over the course of thes season.

Darren Bent (SU) – Just look no further. After starting the season at 7.0, Darren is currently available at a whopping 7.4 – so there’s a big chance someone else in your league has him too. But after five goals, he’s become a bit of a necessity because you can’t get a cheaper striker on such hot form. His clinical finishing is sure to continue, and his price is going to keep rising, so fi you’ve a striker around the same price no scoring goals, get Bent in.

Craig Bellamy (MC) – This is an odd one, but Bellamy has been on superb form this season despite the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez to City’s attack. He scored a fantastic brace last weekend against United, and with the suspension to Adebayor expect Bellamy to start the next couple of games. If he survives any FA charges after his “incident” last week, he might be a shrewd move and I doubt many other managers in your league would have him at 7.9

You can read more from Kevin over on his football site, Back Page Football, plus much more. If you’d like to get involved their, shoot him an email.

With four Fantasy Premier League gameweeks already down, managers are starting to get an idea of whose scoring points – and whose not. With the forwards scoring points, the summer transfer window closing soon, and a two week international break upon us, there are a number of factors to take into consideration over the next fortnight.

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Scoring Strikers

Early evidence is showing the more expensive strikers are delivering the most points. The top five forwards currently total a price tag of 52.2, which shows if you don’t have at least one “big” striker your team is missing out. Didier Drogba has been on top form so far, as have Chelsea who sit unbeaten on top of the league table. The Ivorian has netted three goals in the opening four games, as well as making three assists. Drogba’s price tag has risen to 10.8, which shows there are a lot of managers keen to bring him in. If you want to add a top striker to your squad, the Chelsea man should be your number one target.

Alternatives to Drogba may include Manchester City’s £25million man Emmanuel Adebayor. Not a lot of managers expected the former Arsenal forward to do as well as he has done for City so early on, but the Togo international has a new air of enthusiasm and hunger about him.  So far he’s scored three goals in his three Premier League games, and could be a snip at 10.0. If you want to go slightly cheaper than that, look no further than Jermain Defoe who has scored four goals this season. His price tag has gone up 0.4 to 8.9, so is certainly a good option if you can’t stretch for the more expensive front men.

The two most expensive strikers are Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres, who as you would expect are scoring goals. Rooney has been immense for Manchester Utd so far in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, and has taken on the scoring duties with four goals to his name. Fernando Torres is also delivering goals with three so far, but at 11.0 and 11.5 respectively, these two might be beyond your reach if you’re squad is without a big forward at the moment.

Transfer Rush

With the closing of this summer’s transfer window rapidly approaching, there’s going to be a raft of comings and goings in the League over the next few days. During the week Everton signed Sylvain Distin from Portsmouth. The defender’s price has dropped to 4.9, so if Everton can steady the ship he’ll be a great scorer and much cheaper than any other of Everton’s defensive options. Stoke City have brought in Robert Huth and Tuncay Sanli from Middlesbrough. Stoke’s defense have been big scorers this season – averaging 21.5 between the four who have played after just five games, so at 4.5 Huth should be able to get quite a few points on the board. Tuncay scored seven goals last season, and has netted twice for Boro in the Championship this season – his 6.0 price tag will appeal to many managers for their midfield.

Aston Villa’s defense hasn’t scored well thus far, but the additions of Richard Dunne (5.0) and Stephen Warnock (4.9) to their back line may keep out the goals. Portsmouth have already added to their team since the takeover with the arrivals of Michael Brown and Tommy Smith, so expect more signings at Fratton Park over the next few days. West Ham have spent big on a new striker from Italy, Alessandro Diamanti. They’re desperately short of fit strikers, so he should get some action up front and might be a surprise signing if you want to take the risk.

International Break

Premier League football is disrupted next week due to World Cup qualifiers and international friendlies. As the argument against international games go, there is always the chance of injury for some players. But it’s also a great opportunity to scout your options, as most will be on duty for their nations. A number of England players will be in action next Saturday against Slovenia, followed by Croatia on Wednesday. If one or two can impress in these games their form might continue into gameweek five and get you points. The Republic of Ireland will play Cyprus, followed by South Africa on Tuesday. Shay Given, Robbie Keane, Kevin Doyle and Damien Duff will all in action, so be sure to watch out to see if they impress.

Arsenal play Manchester City in a fortnight. Cesc Fabregas may be back by then, so see how he performs as Spain take on Belgium and Estonia in their qualifying campaign. Andrei Arshavin has scored twice in his last two games, he might take that form into Eastlands after playing Liechtenstein and Wales with Russia. Manchester Utd play Tottenham at White Hart Lane, and both teams will have a number of players on duty over the week. Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney and Ben Foster will all be representing England, while Dimitar Berbatov will be keen to impress against his old side after playing Montenegro and Italy.

And of course, there is the chance of one of your players getting injured so watch out for the

You can read more from Kevin and others at his new football website, Back Page Football, to contribute get in contact with him there, or add him on Twitter.